Dear New Oasis Noble:
Congratulations on becoming a Noble of the Mystic Shrine and joining the fellowship of Oasis Shrine. You will find that being a Shriner has many personal rewards as you work for the cripple and burn child.
One of the best ways to
get fulfillment out of being a Shriner is to become a member of
a unit and/or club. I specifically would like to bring to
your attention one of the most active and colorful units in our
shrine center, the Oasis Shrine Clowns.
One of the greatest feelings in the world is to bring happiness to others. There is no other vocation that I know of that causes someone to smile automatically when they meet a clown. Even our senior citizens love clowns because it reminds them of the youth. To know how important shrine clowns are to our philanthropy, the next time you are visiting the Greenville, SC Shriners Hospital, notice the wall on the second floor dedicated solely to shrine clowns!
You too can enjoy these blessings. Our clown unit is seeking new members.
What do we do?
Well most of our activities are entertaining the public at
parades, both shrine ceremonial parades and public parades
throughout the Oasis jurisdiction. Many of our parades are
during the holiday season. We also do “meet and greet” appearances at various
local car shows at which we receive donations for the hospitals.
However the most unique activity that we have is to perform at
the Oasis Shrine Circus each year. We are the only unit
that is actually a part of the circus program each year.
The circus producers these days do not employ a group of clowns
anymore so they rely on us. We mingle with the audience
before the show and during intermission and then during the show
perform a skit.
We have monthly meetings, generally on the first Friday of each month except July and August. Our wives have formed a wives group that also meets the same night as our group. They also schedule some special functions for themselves throughout the year. In February, we host a big social event in honor of wives. In 2009, we held it in Charleston, SC and had a great weekend.
Each of our clowns has
a unique makeup and costume. Don’t worry; we have nobles
that have been a clown for many years that share their talents
with our new members. Fortunately, there is a local
costume shop that has most of the makeup supplies that we use.
Some of our clowns make their own costume (with or without their
wife’s help) and some purchase professionally made costumes from
costume dealers. The cost to belong; believe it on not, we
are relatively inexpensive compare with other units. There
is no small vehicle, musical instrument or expensive uniform to
buy. We do have some modest annual dues.
Our unit would encourage you to consider joining us. We have a lot of fun and most importantly, bring a lot of joy and happiness to others. I can tell you from personal experience that you will never forget when one of “our” kids come up to you and gives you a big hug because you brought joy to them.
We have a meeting this Friday night, April 9 at 7:30 PM at Oasis Shrine. You are welcome to come and visit with us. Our next meeting will on May 7. Feel free to call me if you have any questions or call our Secretary, Rick Bean, for a petition at 980-581-0401.
Fraternally yours,
French “Patches” Harvey
1st Lt
704-840-8076